Posting DUI checkpoint locations on Facebook

[chozoghost79]

Seems like that would encourage people who might be impaired to drive anyway and just avoid the location. Then there are those who call the pizza place I work at to ask for the same info. Considering the accident statistics why don't people plan on having a dd or just calling a cab?

[Andara Bledin]

Because people are stupid, self-centered fucks who think they can drive just fine while drunk because they haven't crashed, yet, so they must be awesome.

I'd give bad info. Lead them right to the checkpoints.

If they're not drunk, no problem; if they are, then they get what they deserve.

^-.-^

[draggar]

Is someone who is drunk really going to:

A) Check facebook before they drive?
B) Remember where the checkpoints are?

[Greenday]

I have a DUI app on my Droid. Got it before it was banned. Why? Because when I drive, the cops don't care if I had two beers or ten. 0.08 is "drunk" regardless of if you are drunk or even buzzed. I should be able to go out and have fun without being wrongfully molested by the cops.

[MadMike]

If they're not drunk, no problem

I disagree. I've been through two of those things, and I hadn't been drinking either time, and I still considered it a hassle. While I have no love for drunk drivers, I don't think the cops should be able to just stop every single car that passes through an arbitrary point and interrogate the driver.

[draggar]

I have a DUI app on my Droid. Got it before it was banned. Why? Because when I drive, the cops don't care if I had two beers or ten. 0.08 is "drunk" regardless of if you are drunk or even buzzed. I should be able to go out and have fun without being wrongfully molested by the cops.

If you're driving 31 in a 30 the police have the right to stop you and write you a ticket.

if your tag expired yesterday (including the grace period if your state has that) then they have the right to stop you and write you a ticket.

If your BAC is 0.08 (or higher) and that's the legal limit then you're illegally driving. Do you really think everyone is honest and tells them exactly how many beers they've had?

IN each case you also have the right to challenge the ticket and take it to court.

[Jester]

There's one problem with those checkpoints that kind of rankles me. I call it the Two Beers Problem.

Let's say you're out to dinner with some friends, and during the course of dinner, you have a couple of cold brews. No problem, unless you are Super Light Weight Pansy Ass Drinker, you should be fine. (And if you ARE Super Light Weight Pansy Ass Drinker, you should know better than to have those two beers, don't ya think?) Of course, when the cops stop you at the checkpoint, and ask you if you have had anything to drink, you can either Lie To A Cop (never a good idea) and tell them now, or be honest, and tell them you just had two beers with dinner.

Now let's also say that Train Wreck Tom is out and about carousing. And he, being the train wreck that he is, gets pretty lit up. Not obviously tanked, but still definitely drunk. He goes through that same check point. And you know what he says when the cops ask him if he's had anything to drink? "Just two beers, Officer."

Cops here "just a couple" and "just two beers" ALL THE TIME, and from EVERY SINGLE DUMB DRUNK DRIVER out there. It's to the point where if you actually only HAD two beers, saying you only had two is, to some cops, tantamount to a confession of guilt of DUI. And is virtually guaranteed to get you the full field sobriety test. FUN!

Do I have a problem with people posting those checkpoints online? No, not really. Because while some drunk drivers will use it to try to avoid the cops, others will get caught by it. And while some totally fine drivers will use the postings to avoid the hassles, some will get caught up in it and have to deal with the hassle. It balances out.

"But Jester, how can you say that? The drunk driver might KILL someone." Yes, he might. He might do so before he ever got to the checkpoint, too. Or he might be taking a different route home anyway. It's hard to say what a drunk driver will do, and no one can predict whether or not he or she will actually injure, maim, or kill anyone on any given night. So in the end, to me, it does in fact balance out.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I have a couple of beers waiting for me........

[Jester]

Do you really think everyone is honest and tells them exactly how many beers they've had?

Absolutely not. There are actually only three answers to that question that cops here:

1. "I've had nothing to drink." This comes from either someone who has, in fact, had nothing to drink, someone who had a couple but knows what the response will be if he says this, or a dumb drunk driver hoping that the cop won't notice he's trashed.

2. "I've just had one." This comes from someone who has, in fact, had just one, someone who had a couple but knows what the response will be if he says this, or a dumb drunk driver hoping that the "just one drink" answer will let him skate by.

3. "I've just had a couple." This comes from someone who has, in fact, had a couple, hoping that his honesty and his clear lack of impairment will help expedite his trip home, or a dumb drunk driver hoping that the "just a couple" answer will let him skate by.

Rarely, very rarely, cops will get a very honest drunk who says, "Yeah, man, I'm trashed," but this is the exception, not the rule.

[draggar]

Rarely, very rarely, cops will get a very honest drunk who says, "Yeah, man, I'm trashed," but this is the exception, not the rule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAQ5i4pD-rw

[Andara Bledin]

More often than not, it has nothing to do with what you actually say but how you say it. They're doing a lot more than just listening to the words coming out of your mouth when they stop you at a sobriety checkpoint.

^-.-^

[Jester]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I know that the good cops are doing more than just asking questions and taking answers.

I also know that not all cops are good cops, and to some, the moment you say that you've had "a couple," no matter what other evidence of your sobriety they can see, they are going to subject you to a rigorous field sobriety test.

Also, police can (and have) arrest people for "suspicion" of drunken driving, when those people are not only not drunk, but are not even close to it.

And lest anyone misunderstand me, I am not in any way arguing in favor of drunk drivers. That doesn't mean I should automatically condemn people posting DUI checkpoints online for others to see.

[Greenday]

More often than not, it has nothing to do with what you actually say but how you say it. They're doing a lot more than just listening to the words coming out of your mouth when they stop you at a sobriety checkpoint.

^-.-^

Or it's because if you respond that you had any drinks, it gives the cops probable cause to pull you out of your car and give you a sobriety test, so I was told in one of my law classes taught by a lawyer.

[Jester]

Pretty much what I said, yeah.

[chozoghost79]

If you're driving 31 in a 30 the police have the right to stop you and write you a ticket.

if your tag expired yesterday (including the grace period if your state has that) then they have the right to stop you and write you a ticket.

If your BAC is 0.08 (or higher) and that's the legal limit then you're illegally driving. Do you really think everyone is honest and tells them exactly how many beers they've had?

IN each case you also have the right to challenge the ticket and take it to court.

Although if you get a breathalyzer test and blow a .08, telling the court "I wasn't drunk/buzzed" won't help. The law is the law.

[blas87]

I'm not a fan of checkpoints and hassling designated drivers and night shift people going home who aren't doing anything wrong. Not everyone can afford a cab, and sometimes there always is a pushover idiot (used to be me) who would volunteer to make sure people got home alright.

Cops should be doing their jobs and hanging around the bars, watching to see who is drunk and stupid enough to stumble into a car, and by highways and major roads where stupid drunk people will go because they aren't smart enough to use back roads and side streets.